🐉 How to fly with dragons in South Lake Union

Hello there, it’s Wednesday. Did you hear about how Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks CEO, is thinking of running for president as an independent?

Tickets are long gone to hear him talk about that and his new book tomorrow night at the Moore Theatre. But we’ve got 10 tickets right here. 😎 And if you become a member of The Evergrey today for just $8 a month, you’ll be entered to win a pair for you and a friend. What does an Evergrey membership get you? Discounts, swag, access to cool stuff, and the boost that comes from supporting your friendly neighborhood newsletter.

We’ll draw the five winners of a pair of tickets at noon tomorrow — and did we mention the convo will be moderated by our own Evergrey cofounder Mónica Guzmán? — so join up now to score a seat.

Then imagine yourself on a different seat. On a boat. A dragon boat. Yes, those exist. And some of your neighbors in South Lake Union can’t get enough of ‘em…

"There are no heroes in dragon boating," says Fong Ng of the Seattle Flying Dragon Boat Club. Want to get in the water? Click the GIF ☝️

(📸: Eric Keto)

Maybe you’ve seen them out on Lake Union: a long, colorful boat, and a group of people paddling it. In cadence. Real fast. That is a dragon boat. And those are the Seattle Flying Dragons.

The Seattle area has a bunch of dragon boat clubs; the Flying Dragons launch from the Kenmore Air dock on the south end of Lake Union.

Some folks train for races with other teams around the region, while others just want to get out and enjoy the scenery. Either way, some die-hard fans are paddling away in South Lake Union. And you don’t have to be an athlete to join. These Dragons will fly with everyone.

Up for checking out a dragon boat? Practices are either 60 or 90 minutes every Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday and the first three practice sessions are free. There’s no need to sign up; just stop by the Kenmore Air dock during a regularly scheduled practice, and let us know how it goes! Stay tuned for more in our neighborhood spotlight of South Lake Union.

LET’S HANG OUT IN REAL LIFE

Did you snag tickets to our very first event of the year? If so, we can’t wait to see you tonight for our private screen printing class at the Pratt Fine Arts Center in the Central District.

Didn’t get tickets before they sold out? No worries. We’ll be hosting more events this year, with your support. Hit reply to let us know which neighborhood you want to explore with us. 🔎

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SOUTH LAKE UNION?

South Lake Union seen a lot of change over the last decade. (Case in point: The neighborhood’s sometimes called “Amazonia,” after our local tech giant, but was once mostly known as Cascade.)

Curious about SLU’s history and culture? We want to know what questions you have about the neighborhood, whether it’s something about its big tech scene, a cool piece of public art, the backstory of a local business, or more context on how the community’s grown. Anything goes.

» Send us your questions here by Monday, Feb. 4 at noon. We’ll put the best ones up for a vote to your fellow readers that week, then answer the one you most want us to answer.

Want some inspo for crafting for your question? Here’s what Evergrey readers asked about the Central District — and the question we ultimately answered — for our first Seattle neighborhood guide. Know someone doing awesome things in South Lake Union? Hit reply to tell us about ‘em.

NOW HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON IN YOUR CITY

The most dramatic political race ever. No, not the race for president. The race for Seattle City Council. Seven of nine seats are up for grabs, three council vets said they’re not seeking another term, a former police chief and a democratic socialist organizer are among the dozens diving in, and the only thing at stake is, like, the future of our city. “Will the slow progress on homelessness spur a centrist backlash?” teases Crosscut. “Or will the left wing candidates in north and south Seattle replace their districts’ more moderate predecessors?” It’s going to be a long 7 months ‘til the August primary, and Crosscut’s got a map tracking all the new candidates in real time. Bookmark it, Seattleites. You’re gonna need it. ➡️ (Crosscut)

A tale of two cities. Some of us own own our homes here, and some of us rent. Now, thanks to those couple years where we had the fastest-rising housing prices in the country, the difference in what we make has gotten quite a bit bigger. To break it down: Our region’s overall median household income is $82,000. But while renters’ median income is $55,000, homebuyers’ median income is now more than twice that — $114,000. (The Seattle Times)

Zip it, drivers. Ever drive onto a freeway on ramp, try to merge over, and the drivers in the other lane just … don’t let you in? When they keep speed beside you, they’re not following the unspoken rule of zipper merging, which you’ll see demo’d in this video at the 0:30 mark. State Rep. Jesse Young suggested we make zipper merging part of our state’s drivers’ ed requirements to help break all the traffic jams. Why does Rep. Young think Washingtonians haven’t figured this out? Because we’re too polite. 🙄 (MyNorthwest)

For the caffiends. Want to spice up your morning coffee routine? Eater Seattle rounded up some local cafés so you can branch out from your office Starbucks run — no offense, Howard Schultz — and perk up. Fueling up before you catch the bus? Check out Victrola Coffee Roasters’ new digs in Amazon’s and Macy’s shared building downtown. If you need sustenance, grab a challah-pretzel breakfast sandwich along with your cuppa joe from Queen Anne Coffee Co. Up for an adventure? Try a Vietnamese coffee with egg yolk and condensed milk from Brother Joe in Georgetown. ☕️ (Eater Seattle)

💻 Wednesday, Feb. 6: See how you can use banking and insurance tools to build and protect your business at this Impact Hub Lunch + Learn (Pioneer Square)

Around Town

TODAY🎨 Join The Evergrey for a night of DIY screen printing (Central District) — it’s sold out!👋 Learn about the intersection of fashion and tech at this Seattle Gents meetup (Queen Anne)
💪 Go analog and learn how to survive Seattle without a smartphone (Downtown) — Check out our Q&A with teacher/flip phone fan Michael Valeri.💪 See how you can up your sales meeting game at this Evergrey partner event (Pioneer Square)

FRIDAY🎟 See and hear dance, poetry, and music about issues impacting the black community at MoPOP (Queen Anne)
🎟 Gasp at this twisted cabaret show — through Feb. 24 (Ballard)
🗣 Hear stories, songs, and confessions from your indigenous neighbors (Central District)
🎊 Celebrate the Year of the Pig and Chinese New Year over beers (Ballard)
🎶 Sway to soulful tunes at this Sassyblack concert series (Fremont)

SUNDAY🎈 Ooooh and aaaah with the fam at this cabaret brunch — through Mar. 24 (Downtown)
🎟 Get your history geek on at MOHAI’s “WWI America” exhibit — closes Feb. 10! (South Lake Union)
🎈 See all things vintage at the Antique & Collectible Show (Puyallup)

Going to one of these? Take us with you! Email a pic to [email protected] or tag #theevergrey on Instagram. Learn what our emojis mean here. Is an event sold out? Hit reply to let us know and we’ll update the listing in tomorrow’s newsletter.

AND HEY, THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY

We’ll see you tomorrow. 👋 — The Evergrey

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